Three Viets plead guilty to slavery of fellow Viets

A Viet woman, her brother, and her boyfriend pleaded guilty Tuesday in federal court in Pennsylvania to various charges stemming from a modern-day slavery case involving women they brought over from Vietnam to work in their nail salon and as domestics in their home, reports the York Daily Record here.

Lynda Dieu Phan, 39, of Fairfield Township in Pennsylvania, pleads guilty to pleaded guilty Tuesday to conspiracy to commit forced labor trafficking, forced labor and marriage fraud. Her brother, 36-year-old Justin Phan, and her boyfriend, 41-year-old Duc Cao Nguyen, both pleaded guilty to marriage fraud.

The three face maximum sentences of five years in prison, a $250,000 fine and a maximum of three years supervised release.

In addition, the three have agreed to pay a total of $300,000 to the victims in back-pay, the majority of the money coming from seizures of Lynda Dieu Phan and Nguyen’s home, Nguyen’s 2008 Toyota Highlander and money found in several bank accounts.

The victims of Lynda’s human trafficking of her fellow Vietnamese are identified in court documents (read the federal grand jury’s indictment here) by their initials as “A.V.” and “T.V.”

In 2004, Lynda went to Vietnam and promised to bring A.V. to America, for a price. She said A.V. could pay back her debt by working for three years in Lynda’s nail salon in York, Pennsylvania.

So A.V. was brought to the U.S. in August 2004, purportedly as the fiancee of Lynda’s brother Justin Phan, who lives in Tennessee. A month later, Justin and A.V. entered into a sham marriage.

A.V. then began her life in the U.S. as a slave of Lynda’s, working in her nail salon without pay, sleeping on a bed with no mattress, and cooking and cleaning for Lynda in her home.

Apparently sensing a gold mine, Lynda went and got another victim from Vietnam. T.V. came in March 2005. In August 2005, T.V. and Lynda’s boyfriend Duc Cao Nguyen entered into a sham marriage.

And then it was T.V.’s turn to slave for Lynda at her nail salon and in her home, sleeping on the floor in the same room as A.V.

“A.V. stated that Lynda Dieu Phan took her to an immigration attorney in York, PA, who filed immigration applications for A.V. based upon the marriage to Justin Phan,” the York Daily Records quotes court documents. That, however, turned out to be theatrics to fool the young woman. No papers were ever filed.

The women were made to work seven days a week. On six of the seven days, Monday through Saturday, they worked 11 hours straight, from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. On Sunday, they worked noon to 5 p.m.

A.V. worked at the now-defunct Nail Palace in the West Manchester Mall until May 2008 when it closed. T.V. worked at the Da Vi Nail Salon in the Walmart at the same mall. When Nail Palace closed, Lynda moved A.V. to the Da Vi Nail Salon.

The Da Vi Nail Salon remains open, but its current ownership is not known.

After working for Lynda Dieu Phan for three years, A.V. had fulfilled her initial agreement, although at that time, Lynda Dieu Phan never talked to A.V. about it, documents state.

When A.V. confronted Lynda Dieu Phan about money that was owed to her, Lynda Dieu Phan told her she now owed rent and utilities for staying at her home.

“The amounts that Lynda Dieu Phan demanded from A.V. were inconsistent, ranging from $5,000 to $10,000 at different times for the cost of plane tickets and immigration fees,” documents state.

Fortunately, through working at the nail salon, A.V. was acquainted with the customers, and it was through one of the customers that A.V. was able to escape.

A.V. fled from Lynda’s home at 1:30am on June 1, 2008.